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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Boomerang House

After living in their home for nearly 30 years, this empty-nester couple was ready for a change. Their developer-built home offered few unobstructed views of the lake, was poorly insulated with fenestration and mechanical systems operating well beyond efficient life spans. Yet their location-a suburban lakeside lot-offered much valued serenity and the luxury of a short commute. Introduced to this sloping lakeside site, and sweeping lakeside view, the architects responded with a singular gesture-a 100' x 18' x10' segmented bar carved into the profile of the hill.

The new home's unique "boomerang" shape comes from the intersection of an economical and energy efficient rectangular volume and required 75' lakeshore setback requirement. This site strategy allows the home's garden level guest bedrooms to benefit from the earth's insulating qualities while maximizing passive solar gain and natural daylight from the west-facing orientation. The interior of the stucco- clad home is defined by two parallel concave walls: a diaphanous west elevation that both responds to and overlooks the lake and a thickened east wall that gathers servant spaces to create a narrow passage at the main entrance.

2010 Design Award Society of American Registered Architects (SARA)

2010 Silver Award Association of Licensed Architects (ALA)

2010 RAVE Residential Architects Vision and Excellence Award Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Mpls | St. Paul Magazine

The faceted plan focuses activities at the center of the home bringing together living, entry, kitchen, deck, and patio spaces. While its genesis is formal, this is a social action concentrating attention on the public spaces, their connections and constituent activities. The gesture also separates, creating necessary distance for more private actions at the end of the volume including dining room and master bedroom suite. With views once limited in their previous home, the new home offers lake views from all main living areas through 10' tall slidingglass panels that gather light while recessed automatic shades and existing oak trees control late afternoon sun.